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ILSR is convening the 6th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum in NYC next May. These events will bring together community composters (and those who love them) to network, share best practices, and build support for community-scale composting systems and enterprises. … Read More

Municipal elections often fall off the radar during national ones, but cities retain a surprising amount of power over their energy future. What can you ask a local candidate or elected official to pursue? The following list of 11 resolutions, actions, and rules can make your local city council or mayor a clean energy champion.… Read More

What if your savings account could be put to use enabling clean energy investments from insulation to solar to electric vehicles? Starting this summer it can. John Farrell spoke with volunteer board chair Blake Jones of the newly launched Clean Energy Credit Union in August 2018 about this online-only financial institution dedicated to financing home insulation, solar, electric vehicles, and electric bikes and more.… Read More

Locally owned businesses play a central role in healthy communities and are among the best engines that cities and towns have for advancing economic opportunity and building resilient places. Here, we outline five important reasons for local officials to support independent businesses, based on a growing body of research.… Read More

The report, Yes! In My Backyard: A Home Composting Guide for Local Governments, profiles 11 home composting programs (10 in the United States, 1 in Canada) and is a guide for local governments starting their own programs. It makes the case that home composting should be a central component of every community’s residential food waste reduction strategy. The guide is not intended as a manual on how to compost at home.… Read More

The United States Senate is gearing up to vote on a resolution to repeal the roll back of network neutrality protections by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In advance of the vote, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks initiative director Christopher Mitchell is featured in a video from Senator Bernie Sanders (I – Vt.) detailing how the FCC’s actions harm rural America, specifically.… Read More

On May 1, 2018, Bill B22-0501 – Home Composting Incentives Amendment Act of 2018 unanimously passed the D.C. City Council. ILSR has supported and worked on this bill since it was first introduced by City Councilmember Mary Cheh. Home composting is an important part of any community’s strategy to recycle food scraps and yard trimmings. By cutting waste set out at the curb for municipal collection, home composting will save the City avoided costs in hauling and disposal site tipping fees. At the same, residents will enrich the soil in their own yards.… Read More

Who should be responsible for the life cycle of a product, especially its take-back, recycling and final disposition? How can that process produce the most benefits, and is there more than one answer? Will the U.S. recycling be hamstrung by beverage corporation interests, or will it succeed in developing increased recycling and Zero Waste?… Read More

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ILSR's 2018 Annual ReportIn each of our wide-ranging initiatives, we work alongside community leaders to provide the hard data, detailed policy expertise, and compelling narratives needed to support effective advocacy and organizing.